Stick 'em up!Just after 09/11 I went to San Francisco (SFO) on a business trip. Having a few hours to spare I hit the quaint shops in downtown Palo Alto. Not thinking twice, I bought this cherry pitter gadget in a local gourmet cooking store.
Passing through security on my return trip, the cherry pitter caught the eye of the security staff. I tell you, they must have spent 20 minutes trying to figure out if and how I could use said cherry pitter as an in-flight weapon. In the end - and I really think because I kept the conversation light hearted and jovial - they allowed me to board with my cherry pitter. The flight landed without incident and I still use that little gadget to this day (and if you like cherries, highly recommend you buy one yourself).
Now, it's been a long time since the tragic days of 09/11, and yes, I know airport security is incredibly important. But, this story - out of The Great White North - may be taking it a bit to far:
Like my cherry pitter incident, security spent time trying to figure out if and how this necklace could be used as a weapon. In the end, they made her pack it in her luggage and check her bag. However, Canadian security has admitted their fault and said in a letter:On Monday, Marnina Norys, a 39-year-old PhD student of social political thought at York University, was forced to remove a piece of silver jewellery cast in the shape of an antique pistol by airport security in Kelowna, B.C., who feared the trinket posed a security risk to the passengers on her WestJet flight.
Approaching the security desk, Norys says she was stunned when guards labelled the 5-centimetre pendant, with no bullets or moving parts, a replica firearm.
"In retrospect, your revolver-shaped pendant is not a threat and should have been allowed on board the aircraft."After reading that article, I was left wanting a pendant like that. It's pretty sweet!
(But I'll pack it away if traveling through Canada!)
Pistol pendant causes airport holdup [TheStar.com]
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